Highway Don't Care
by Kirei Tsuki
Summary: With his long-time girlfriend taking the chance to better her chances as an author by studying abroad in London with Brainy, Arnold must decide whether or not he's ready to let go of his childhood terror, Helga G. Pataki. Features the song "Highway Don't Care" by Tim McGraw ft. Taylor Swift for Disney'sBelle! Enjoy! (ONESHOT)


**A/n: Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry for not getting to these! I have work I'm required to do for my senior AP literature class and I have to log about 1984 by George Orwell and Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Plus I'm working on my comic so yeah. But as my first request, enjoy Highway Don't Care for Disney'sBelle. Hope you guys haven't given up on me!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Chaltiquel! Craig Barlett and Nickelodeon owns Hey Arnold! **

**Song: Highway Don't Care by Tim McGraw ft. Taylor Swift**

**It's amazing! :D**

"What are you doing?"

Golden green eyes stared out the window as droplets bursts against the transparent frame. The young man turned to the golden blonde beside him as she stared at the family across from them. Her eyebrows furrowed as she twisted her old golden locket around her thin, delicate fingers.

"Going to England with you, doi..."

Brainy frowned as the supposedly snippy remark from his companion came out as a mutter.

"You obviously don't want to go." Brainy frowned, sitting back in his seat.

"Of course I'm going. This is a once and a lifetime chance to pursue my dream. I'll never get another chance." Helga rolled her bright blue eyes, laying her head back on her seat. Her ponytail, damp from the morning's sudden rainfall dropped onto the empty seat behind her. "Besides, it's not like anyone will stop me."

_**Bet your window's rolled down and your hair's pulled back**_

_**And I bet you got no idea you're going way too fast**_

"How could you just let her go, Arnold?!"

Ignoring his sisters shouts, Arnold ran up to his room, with her hot on his tail. A thousand thoughts clouded his football headed mind, and Chal's yells were making it hard to think straight. He immediately closed and locked the door, causing Chal to start beating against it.

"Arnold! Open the damn door! How could you let her go?! Why do you want her to leave?!" Chal pounded repetitively as Arnold slid to the floor, his back against the door.

_**You're trying not to think about what went wrong**_

Nobody wanted her to leave, of course he didn't want her to leave. But he couldn't take opportunities away from her. Besides, she made it clear that she didn't want to stay. Shouting that he barely cared about what she wanted, throwing her ribbon into his face, storming out of the boarding house.

"We have to get her back! Quit hiding!" Chal yelled, her constant knocks ceasing.

"I never said I wanted her to leave...I was just doing what was best for her..." Arnold muttered, a sullen look passing over his features.

"Since when do you get to decide what's best for the both of you?! Arnold, why didn't you tell her the truth?!"

"I couldn't be selfish, Chal! Helga's always wanted to write, and she's always wanted to get out of Hillwood. I couldn't let how I feel about her ruin her chances..."

"You're her boyfriend, not her father! Why do you think she asked you in the first place?!"

"I don't know! She wanted encouragement?"

Frowning, he opened the door as lime green met emerald. The answer was pitiful, and they both knew it. Chal sighed and walked over to his bed, picking up the worn pink object from his pillow.

"You have this to her when we came back. It showed her that you actually loved her. It was a promise to always be with her, even when you couldn't be physically. Do you really think she would leave this with you for encouragement?" Chal asked, handing him Helga's signature ribbon.

His eyes softened at the sight as he caressed the thin, silky fabric. His thoughts were interrupted by Chal grabbing the keys to his pickup.

"I suppose she'll want this back..." Arnold smiled and his sister grinned.

"I knew you couldn't be that sense!" She began hopping down the stairs.

"What?"

"Nothing!" She laughed as we headed for the door.

_**Trying not to stop 'til you get where you goin'**_

"You can't even say you want to go. Why can't you just admit you want to stay here?" Brainy looked to his childhood crush with an annoyed expression.

"You know exactly why, Brainy, so shut up and put up." Helga scowled, her eyes now trained on a little blonde girl who was crying her eyes out as her parents dragged her over to board a plane. Was that what she looked like? A child afraid of leaving what she had grown so accustomed to? Her scowled deepened as she mueled it over. No, she was the child afraid of losing everything she already had. Everything she loved.

"Don't give me that load, I stalked you for seven years and I've been your best friend for twelve now." Brainy stood, rolling his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. He told me to go anyways. He's too good to stop me..."

"Fine. I should've learned by now you'll never grow out of being stubborn. Im going to find something so drink. I'm going to leave you with this: I'm leaving what I love behind for London. Are you going to do the same?"

The young Pataki watched him as he stalked over to the Starbucks. Sighing, she closed her eyes and laid her head back. The hustle of the crowds and planes frustrated her beyond belief, as if her mind wasn't a mess already. She looked over to Brainy's chair, smirking as she picked up his forgotten custom Beats.

_**You're trying to stay awake so I bet you turn on the radio**_

_**And the song goes**_

_**"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby**_

_**I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby, baby"**_

Groaning, she pulled them off, "Damn sap...who knew he liked Taylor Swift..." But then again, so did she. And who was she to judge? All she could think about was if she could really live without Arnold.

_**The highway won't hold you tonight**_

If she did go, no one would hold her when she ran from home. No one would tell her they'd never let her go like he did. But she guessed that was a lie. He wasn't there to hold her now. He had let her go.

_**The highway don't know you're alive**_

_**The highway don't care if you're all alone**_

He wouldn't be there, his arms wrapped around her waist as he whispered for her to think positive. How he wanted to see her everyday and keep her safe. How he would have to die along with her if she had one of her darker days. He would always tell her that, and she always put her dark ideals behind her, because she couldn't stand the thought of him being gone. She would miss the way he smiles for no reason, and how much he dreamed.

_**But I do, I do.**_

_**The highway won't dry your tears**_

_**The highway don't need you here**_

_**The highway don't care if you're coming home**_

She closed her eyes as they began to glisten. She shuttered as their warmth slid across her damp, cool cheeks. She didn't want then to fall. It felt as if his warmth was leaving her cold and worn. As calls were heard for flights, groans or cancellation and shouts of rushing families blocked out her silent prayer. Maybe, just maybe, he would come...

_**But I do, I do.**_

_**I bet you got a dead cell phone in your shotgun seat**_

"Can you slow down just a bit?!"

"Arnold, you do realize we have to go through finding out where they're going to be, go through security, yadayadayada." Chal argued, taking a sharp turn.

_**Yeah, I bet you're bending God's ear talking 'bout me.**_

"Yeah, but I'd like to keep my lunch down. It's already going to be nerve racking talking to her. I knew we shouldn't have let Grandma teach you how to drive..." Arnold groaned.

_**You're trying not to let the first tear fall out**_

"What are you going to say? Please don't tell me...you think you're just gonna waltz in there and come out all willy nillie with Helga G. Pataki!" Chal rolled her eyes.

_**Trying not to think about turning around**_

_**You're trying not to get lost in the sound but that song is always on**_

"Look, I don't know what to say, okay!" Arnold sighed, running his hands through his damp locks. Chal sighed, turning on the radio. He stared at the window, counting the clear droplets that hugged the window of his pickup as Chal muttered something about needing epic driving music.

_**So you sing along**_

_**I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby**_

Then it hit him.

_**I can't live without I can't live without you baby, oh baby**_

It hit him harder than Helga's confession so long ago.

_**The highway won't hold you tonight**_

He couldn't do it. He knew if she was gone, he couldn't hold her. No matter how old he was or how much they fought, Helga was always in his life. He had always had to worry about if Gerald might move away, if he would lose his grandparents, and he had only met Chal and been reunited with his parents until he was ten.

_**The highway don't know you're alive**_

But Helga had never left him. When he was rejected, she'd be there. And when he felt down, she would found some way to bring back his positive attitude, no matter what the cost.

_**The highway don't care if you're all alone**_

And so many years ago, she would let him know there was hope. She want the kind to cheer people up, he knew she thought she was horrible at it, but she always knew just what to say.

_**But I do, I do.**_

That's why it was all worth it.

_**The highway won't dry your tears**_

He wanted to be the one to kiss her tears away, and read the passion that seemed so evident whenever he looked into her azure eyes. He wanted to search her soul and struggle to solve her puzzle.

_**The highway don't need you here**_

_**The highway don't care if you're coming home**_

He wanted to whisper in her war sweet nothings for no reason, and murmur against her rosy lips that heed never leave her. He'd give himself up before he lost her, and she knew that. He'd never let her forget it.

_**But I do, I do**_

The truck came to an abrupt stop as Chal hit the brakes. Arnold grabbed onto the dash as we slid.

"Really? Drifting in the rain, Chal?" Arnold have his little sister a stern look of disapproval. Chal stared out at the entrance. Following get example, his jaw nearly dropped before he kept out of the car.

_**I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby**_

Smiling sheepishly, he made his way to stand under the overhang, "Sorry I took so long...how long have you been waiting?"

Helga smirked as she stood from sitting on her luggage, "Way to keep me waiting, Football head."

"You've been crying." Arnold's brows furrowed as he tilted up her chin to inspect her face.

_**I can't live without, I can't live without you, baby, oh baby**_

"No...I'm a tough girl, Arnaldo! Give me a break!" Helga rolled her eyes playfully before smirking once again.

_**The highway don't care**_

"But I'm not."

_**The highway don't care**_

Helga raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I think everyone knows you're not a girl by now. Though the shirt you wore as a kid kinda threw a couple people off."

_**The highway don't care**_

"No, Helga. I mean, I screwed up. I thought I was doing what was right. I thought I should let you pursue your dreams. But then I realized, it wasn't. Maybe Chal's right, maybe I am a little oblivious-"

_**But I do, I do**_

"Damn right on that one." Helga grinned mischievously.

_**I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby**_

_**I can't live without I can't live without you, baby, oh baby**_

"Helga. I can't though. If I'm going to choose anytime in my life to be selfish, it's today. I can't live without you, Helga. I promised you I'd never leave you alone, and I never plan on it." Arnold smiled and tied her ribbon around her ponytail.

_**(The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**But I do, I do)**_

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and for a moment, he could once again see the fiery blue that drove him to her. Mumbling against her cool cheek, he whispered a simple I love you. She smiled as she began to tear up, calling him an idiot for making her feel all lovey dovey.

_**(The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**But I do, I do)**_

Chal smiled as she leaned against the truck, watching as Helga have Arnold a flick to the head for throwing her valuables around, causing him to laugh out an apology. Her smile faded as she pulled her phone from her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she held up her dampened pine green mane out of her face an reread a text.. It was from a number she had deleted recently, but she would never forget it.

_**(The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**The highway don't care**_

_**But I do, I do)**_

_**I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby**_

_'Good to see that our final plan successful' -Brian_

Chal paused before replying with a simple yes, and reminding him to be safe. He wouldn't get it until later of course. His text had been sent at 8:25 am.

"Chal, get your short butt in the car, it's starting to rain again!" Helga peaked her head out from the front seat. Helga paused as the two women's eyes caught sight of a plane heading towards the east. Ignoring her best friends look of sympathy, Chal sat in the back passenger seat.

Her heart had departed at 8:40 am.

**A/n: Haha! A little twist at the end. I hope everyone likes it and I hope it wasn't too confusing! I hardly ever do songfics so yeah...well, its 6:45 am...time to sleep!**

**R&R!**

**Love, KT :-)**


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